word up

An AAVE and hip-hop expression used in multiple related senses: to signal agreement or approval, to call for attention ('listen up'), or to ask what is happening ('what's the word?'). The phrase was popularized in 1980s hip-hop culture and appeared in the 1986 Cameo hit song of the same name. It carries an authentic mid-80s hip-hop energy and is now also used nostalgically.

Word up is a versatile piece of American hip-hop and street slang that emerged in the 1980s. It functions as a greeting ('what's up?'), a call for attention ('listen up!'), or an expression of agreement and affirmation ('exactly, I agree'). The agreement sense is the most enduring — 'word up' or just 'word' became a standard way of signalling that you cosign what someone just said. The phrase was immortalised in the 1986 Cameo song 'Word Up!' and spread from hip-hop culture into broader American slang. Register is informal and culturally rooted.

I approve; I agree.

What's up?; what's happening?; what's the word?.

Listen up; pay attention!.